24hrs Urinary Urea Nitrogen Practical - Essay Example

For example, a patient with a pathologically low blood pressure develops diminished urine flow. Nitrogen balance involves comparing nitrogen intake from foods and fluids with nitrogen excretion. Thus, nitrogen balance provides the clinician with an index of protein catabolism and a basis for assessing the adequacy of protein intake (Skipper, 1995; p. 86). In order to determine the nitrogen balance for each student in the group, data on the protein intake of these students must be acquired (Barakat et al., 2009) and inputed into the following formula: The dietary protein intake is best measured if the individual follows a standardized diet, that is, all the food that the individual eats must be measured before consumption, and duplicate meals must be prepared and analyzed for their nitrogen content (Manore et al.

, 2009; pp. 112-113). A minimum daily protein requirement is needed by the body to maintain its structural proteins, visceral proteins and immune competence. Conversely, when the body encounters certain stresses, its proteins also suffer level discrepancies. For example, starvation needs a progressive selection of fat as body fuel. Muscles stop utilizing glucose as soon as a meal is over and instead, fatty acids are used (Cahill, 1976). Ketoacid levels in blood become elevated over the first week, and the brain preferentially uses these instead of glucose.

The net effect is to spare protein even further, as the brain further decreases the rate of using glucose. Nevertheless, there is still net negative nitrogen balance, but this can be nullified by amino acid or protein supplementation. In addition, protein kinetics are known to be accelerated in severe trauma. In fact, critically ill patients with major trauma demonstrate catabolism resulting in a net loss of body mass. Thus, the patient loses more nitrogen than is provided from nitrogen / protein sources (Wiliams & Shchlenker, 2003).

The literature has varying ranges for the 24 hr UUN